Candidal infections of the gastrointestinal tract are common in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Oral candidiasis, though not diagnostic of the syndrome, has been shown to carry a poor prognosis in patients in the prodromal stage, called AIDS-related complex (ARC).1–3 In a prospective study of high-risk patients with unexplained oral candidiasis, Klein et al1 found that 59% of these patients acquired a major opportunistic infection or secondary cancer at a median interval of three months. The authors concluded that in high-risk patients, oral candidiasis may represent an intermediate stage in the spectrum of disease that progresses from ARC to AIDS.